Skantarios Kladas
''"My people are bitter losers, and I will manipulate their torches from me, to the enemy." '' History The long line of death has led to the Lakonians choosing the unlikely. Some claim him hero, some claim him a savior; saint. Yet his reforms have done little to benefit the Empire as of current. The Basileus of Lakonia has become a target to the rising gangs across Nika. To be crowned Basileus, was to be recognized as bought, or favored by warlord strategoi. Skantarios was no different, yet his ascension was due to the demand of another Kladas by the public. Krokodelios Kladas, former Basileus of the Empire had been driven to an early grave with a dozen battles under his belt, dying to an arrow to his skull before he could bear children. Born from an Asmarian noble, and from the last great Basileus of Lakonia, Skantarios would be sent on a crash course to study and understand politics. He would be guided by his teachers, but bribed by the warlords who controlled his cities, his armies . . . his life. The last Kladas was exploitable in this regard, yet the boy asked questions every step of the way, as if to thwart their attempts to control him. Eventually upon his regency being dismantled, he would be crowned Basileus of a falling Empire. Losing wars, yet winning battles. Riots stirred in every major city, yet an odd and eerie calm came upon the capital as they saw their Basileus crest the balcony to study them. He, unlike many before him, did not give a speech. A mere thanks was all he uttered, until he fled back into his palace. The coffers of his family had been thick with gold, and many desired it. Skantarios believed power itself could be achieved by buying men to kill his enemies. He spent his coin lavishly on buying off merchants, spokesmen, and soldiers to his cause. Meanwhile his country would burn, but he would focus entirely on Nika first. The warlords he had been told much of, had appeared to him in person to guide his rule for their favor. Yet these preparations of bought guards allowed him to massacre these men. Within the night he would send those who knew where their cults were, had guided hundreds of guards to butcher every soul. Within the morning, he would have these warlords strung high and laid strewn on the mighty walls of Nika. During the same week, he would send word to the Merovingian Empire, looking for suitors to further his line. After dismantling a marriage two years before his coronation, he sought out the untainted of mind. He would marry Aethelflaed Ervingas of the Five Boroughs district of the Merovingian Empire. He would have her by his side throughout his career of stabilizing the Empire. Yet after these hastily forged events, Skantarios would face repercussions. Thousands of soldiers from the edges of the Empire began to appear, taunting the Basileus as they butchered distant family members. With his coffers drained at this point, the rest of his money would be spent on buying mercenary companies and buying off the loyalty of his troops before marching off to meet this nearing army. He hadn't much on military study, but he believed he could beat them. He could wage his first battle as marshall of this army, but even with the first battle a victory, given that the enemy's left flank had collapsed, hundreds of men died. It is now current day, and Skantarios ponders whether he could truly beat this massive army with the same tactic. Mercenaries drain from his army after not receiving payment, and so he must attack now - thoroughly and harshly.